Dear Shaded viewers,
In celebration of their 10th anniversary, Rombaut held their first fashion show during Paris Fashion Week Men’s. On the top floor of L’Institut du Monde Arabe, they revealed their upcoming shoe collection, featuring a collaborative sneaker with Puma. The collection centralizes around the quality of human life in a time when AI begins to dominate. The choice of location symbolises the embracement all cultures and peace in a time of political tension.
Models circled a contemporary dance performance choreographed by Max Cookward, dressed in subversive all black, grey, and white looks that wrapped around and constrained their bodies. Betsey Johnson’s styling drew attention to silver jewellery with abstracted sun shapes, 3D printed eco-resin sunglasses, bags and shoes constructed from cruelty free, artificial leather. Nonprofessional models were cast for their uniqueness and novel edge, with hair by Charlie Le Mindu highlighting unique features and creating a synonymous avant-garde vision.
The star of the show in footwear was Rombaut’s collaborative sneaker with Puma, which has been in the works for a year. The Levitation Medic sneaker is a cross of Puma’s slim, sleek shape that has dominated the market for decades, with Rombauts pure and futuristic design vision. The lack of laces highlights minimalistic construction where the sole, upper and Puma’s branding become one singular form. Negative space in the disconnect between the heel and the rest of the shoe results in an unexpected, anti-gravitational effect. The shoe concept is further abstracted in the Levitation Sock style, where Puma’s branding and the floating heel detail are added to an ankle length Rombaut sock.
Rombaut also revealed new heeled boots. The Solar Heel, the Shaolin Heel and the Flow heel are all elevated on an almost marble-like mini-metal heel. Each draws inspiration from a different style of boot, with references from kung-fu, motor, and cowboy worlds in cruelty free materials.
While the show peaked excitement for the new collection, we will have to wait until early 2025 for the shoes and accessories to line stores and fill out online stockists. Just as they do with their all vegan, alternatively sourced materials, Rombaut aims to exist outside of the rules of the mainstream fashion system. They release collections as the ideas come, and as they feel they have something worthwhile to say in their designs as opposed to serving commercial values. The show during Fashion Week is the first step in their new dialogue, which they hope to take in the direction of newer, larger creative avenues.
Later,
